Conventional internal combustion engines comprising reciprocating pistons connected to a crank shaft are known. Such engines are inefficient in terms of transferring force applied to the pistons, by the exploding fuel, to the crank shaft. FIG. 1 shows a cross-section of a prior art internal combustion engine that converts a linear force of expansion (F) into rotational work on the crank shaft. The torque (T) on the crank shaft produced by a force F pushing on a piston connected to a crank shaft of radius r, which can also be referred to as the crank offset, can be written as:T=rF(θ)≅rF sin(θ)  (Equation 1)
Equation 1 shows us that the presence of the angle theta θ between the force ‘F’ and the radius ‘r’ reduces the output torque by a factor of sin(θ) and, as such, makes for low force transfer at small angles. As will be understood by the skilled worker, the component of force that transmits torque is only approximately a function of sin θ due to the kinematics of the crank-slider and due to losses in the crank, piston, and connecting rod.
Internal combustion engines having toroidal chambers with piston pairs formed therein are also known. The pistons can be coupled to a drive shaft through complex arrangements of gears and linkages, or through clutch mechanisms. Although these engines are smaller in size than comparable conventional combustion engines with equivalent displacement, their gear and linkages arrangement are still relatively bulky with respect to their toroidal chambers. Timing mechanisms to time the fuel ignition for such toroidal combustion engines can include electrical timing mechanism and/or mechanical timing mechanisms. Such timing mechanisms typically require that the movement of many parts be synchronized, which can negatively impact the manufacturing and maintenance costs of the engines.
Therefore, improvements in toroidal internal combustion engines are desirable.